Fears of Needles May Start During Preschool

There are many excuses people use to skip the annual flu shot. But, recent research suggests the fear of needles may be a leading fear-factor of avoidance.

This ‘needle fear’ was found to start around age 5, and may be preventable.

Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia found that teens were more likely to fear needles if they had received multiple vaccine injections during a single doctor visit when they were 4 to 6 years old.

"It's clear that giving preschoolers more injections on the same day frequently results in a lasting fear of needles," says Dr. Amy Baxter, lead study’s author.

According to this limited study, the primary factor that made a difference in increased needle-fear was how many shots were delivered at one time, and only when they were preschoolers.

This small study supports the findings of previous ‘needle-fear’ studies.

A previous study published in 2012 found that 24 percent of the parents and 63 percent of children feared needles.

And, this fear was the primary reason for not getting recommended vaccines later in life.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends five vaccines between ages 4 to 6: polio, varicella (chickenpox), the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella), DTaP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis) and the annual flu vaccine.

Additionally, the CDC recommends adolescents get their first HPV vaccine dose at age 11-12 and a second dose six months later.

This study’s results did not reach statistical significance, but suggest the need to explore this possibility further, said Dr. Baxter.

Long-term solutions could involve pain-free vaccine options, such as patches and microneedles, and administering vaccines at pharmacies to reduce the burden on pediatricians," Dr. Baxter said.

These researchers did not disclose any conflicts of interest: Baxter AL, Cohen LL, Burton M, Mohammed A, Lawson ML.